The media & role in society Essay Example for Free

The media role in society Essay The media plays a crucial role in society. It is responsible for developing viewpoints through the images it represents. People form opinions through what the media provides. However, more often than not, the media is also responsible for presenting inaccurate and biased images which greatly influence the perception of people. Naturally, the wrong kind of representation sends the wrong kind of message. The 2004 movie â€Å"Crash† is a good example of how the media promotes unfair judgment, as its story increased the stereotyping of African-Americans through the negative depiction of one of its black characters. The movie â€Å"Crash† is not a typical film with one story told in a linear fashion. Instead, it presents multiple vignettes woven in a web of a single narrative. In essence, the movie is about the different lives of people living in Los Angeles. It features the life of a police detective and his lover partner, 2 car thieves, a locksmith, a store owner, a TV director and his wife, the district attorney and his wife, and 2 police officers. While the stories of the characters are introduced to each other’s lives through car crashes, these are more importantly connected by one thing: racial discrimination. The issue of race sits at the core of the story, as the film exhibits the conflict created by the various races of people residing in Los Angeles. All races are represented in the movie: African-American, Asian, Caucasian and Hispanic. These races collide in the story and the end result reveals the prejudices they have against each other. The story of each character ends differently; while some change for the better, some remain the same. Hence, â€Å"Crash† can be considered as the film which explores racial discrimination and its consequences through the point of view of diverse personalities. Upon watching the movie, Director Paul Haggis seems to convey two messages through his masterpiece. He intended the audience to recognize two realities that are often overlooked. First, he wanted to show that everyone is guilty of racial discrimination. Regardless of which race a person belongs to, this person may have judged another based on their race. The traditional notion is that only white people are guilty of having prejudice towards African-Americans and other races. However, the movie showed that those who are often victims of racial discrimination are also guilty of participating in it. The second reality that Haggis intended to show through his film is the interconnectedness of people. No matter how different people are, they are all linked in the society they live in. He showed that actions of one individual affect the actions of another, which explains the gravity of the consequences of racial discrimination in society. Thus, the intention of the filmmaker was to open the eyes of the audience about two realities. â€Å"Crash† can be considered as a remarkable piece of cinema, but it does have its flaws. It is an award-winning film with a socially relevant story to convey. Nevertheless, despite the film’s noble intention to preach against racial discrimination, it is guilty of giving a negative depiction of African-Americans, specifically the character of Anthony. Anthony, who was played by rapper Chris â€Å"Ludacris† Bridges, is a young African-American man who is a thief by profession. With his friend Peter Waters (portrayed in the film by actor Larenz Tate), Anthony steals vehicles to be sold to a chop shop. In fact, the first time they appear in the movie is when they steal the Lincoln Navigator which the Rick and Jean Cabot (Brendan Fraser and Sandra Bullock) own. However, it is not only the act of stealing that gives Anthony’s character its negative portrayal. It was the discrepancy between his attitude and actions that set him in a negative light. Anthony is depicted as an African-American fighting against the racial discrimination of his race. When Anthony first appears on screen, he was ranting to Peter about the unequal treatment he received from the African-American waitress. He complains that he was not served at the same speed as white customers, despite the fact that the waitress was of the same color as he. At this point, the audience recognizes Anthony’s awareness of the racial discrimination African-Americans suffer in society, sometimes even from people of the same racial background. Then, Anthony reveals his hatred of white people when Rick and Jean Cabot walk towards their direction; he becomes enraged when the Jean clings closer to her husband when she sees Anthony and Peter. Eventually, both men force the white couple out of their vehicle and steal their vehicle. Throughout the story, Anthony continues to react against the discrimination of blacks in society. He says that he would not hurt his fellow African-Americans, though by the latter part of the story he broke this promise. The depiction of Anthony’s character is negative because it shows the audience the contradictory nature of African-Americans. Anthony is a character who strongly opposes the unfair treatment against his race. Initially, such fervent opposition may seem as a good thing. However, his own actions encourage others to discriminate about him. While he hates the way white people discriminate against African-Americans, he gives these people enough reason to unfairly judge his race. The fear of white people towards blacks originates from the crimes or criminal activities that African-Americans are associated with. Instead of doing good things and proving society wrong about black people, he steals cars and justifies the fear. At one point, he even robbed an African-American man (Cameron Thayer as played by Terrence Howard). In addition, his actions also reflect his discrimination of others. He has extreme hatred of white people. Just as the white people discriminate against them, he also discriminates against them. He is also guilty of racial discrimination towards Asians; he ran over an Asian man he called â€Å"Chinaman. † Hence, the character of Anthony was depicted in a negative light as an African-American man who does not like to be discriminated but participates in the discrimination of others. The character of Anthony is also depicted negatively because it follows the stereotype of African-Americans in media. The media has often portrayed African-Americans as involved in criminal or illegal activities. The portrayal of Anthony is no exception. He was a young black man who lived on stealing other people’s vehicles. A stereotype is a representation of those who belong to a specific group which upholds common belief or unjustified bias. The stereotype of African-Americans in the media paints an unpleasant picture of a race, as it presents them as citizens who disrespect the law. Due to Anthony’s depiction in the film â€Å"Crash,† this stereotype remains. Again, African-Americans are categorized as those that are not capable of living without breaking the laws. In real life, this is not the case. While there are black people who are involved in criminal activities, there are also African-Americans who live honest lives and earn money through hard work. Because of the stereotype that is used in the movie, the behavior of those who abide by the laws are discredited while the behavior of those who break the laws overshadow them. The negativity of a portrayal or depiction is based on the unpleasant or unfair presentation of a character. For instance, Anthony is negatively depicted because the movie upheld the stereotype of black people being criminals. The existence of such stereotype is obviously pleasant and remarkably unfair. As was earlier established, not everyone from the African-American community is involved in illegal activities. Because Anthony was portrayed as a car thief in the movie, the general perception of people that blacks are criminals still remain. Through Anthony’s negative portrayal, the movie contributed to the existing stereotype of African-American people. â€Å"Crash† by Paul Haggis is a movie which explores racial discrimination in Los Angeles. It highlights the existing tension between different cultures and races. While it is a distinctly fine film, it contributed to the stereotyping of African-Americans through the negative portrayal of the character of Anthony. By presenting a black man as a criminal who also discriminates against others, the movie helped little in improving the general perception of black people in society. Instead, it furthers the public’s unfavorable opinion about people of color. Therefore, the story of the movie â€Å"Crash† increased the stereotyping of a group. Reference Reimer, R. , Korbelin, J. , Grasic, M. (Producers) Haggis, P. (Director). (2004). Crash [Motion picture]. United States: Lionsgate.

Jasmine Essay -- essays papers

Jasmine Bharati Mukherjee was born on July 27, 1940 in Calcutta, India. (Pradhan ) She was born into a wealthy family, which assisted her in her dream of becoming a writer. She lived in India, Europe, the United States, and Canada. Migrating to these countries that are so different from her place of birth enabled her to write very powerful novels on immigrant experiences. Mukherjee’s novels focus on exploring the migration and the feeling of alienation that is experienced by these immigrants. (Pradhan) Her works have explored such themes as isolation, sexism, discrimination, the mistreatment of Indian women, and exploring identities. In Bharati Mukherjee’s novel Jasmine, the character shows some similarities to the author, but there are many differences. Both were born in India, but Jasmine was not born into wealth. Jasmine does not have the same resources as Bharati, so it is harder for her to leave her home and to migrate to the United States. One of the similarities between Jasmine and the author is their drive to go after what they want and to not stop until they get it. Bharati’s drive is to become a writer, and Jasmine’s is to go to the United States. Another similarity is their struggle to find their identity when they migrate to the United States. This is one of the major themes in Jasmine. One important aspect about the novel Jasmine is that it is not written in chronological order. The novel is written as though the main character is remembering events out of sequence. The author employed this method of writing quite efficiently. It was not entirely confusing and it set a mood of anticipation of what is to come. The novel starts out when Jasmine is a young girl in India. She is consulting an astrol... ...arries his child. This is evidence that she is steering further away from her Indian values. Someone may say that Jasmine is about a victim struggling in America or that it is about an immigrant who has assimilated herself into becoming an American. I think it is a little bit of both. I think that the main theme of this novel is exploring identities. Jasmine’s struggle in America and her immigrant experience force her to explore within herself and to discover what she is capable of doing in life. Jasmine has many stages in her life. Even her name changes throughout the novel, becoming more American, which corresponded to the stages in her life. Jasmine went through a metamorphoses in this novel in which she had to suffer many terrible and some wonderful events in order to become the person that she is at the end of the novel when she leaves Bud to be with Taylor.

Human Rights/ Child Abuse Essay

History of the issue. Have similar issues been dealt with in the past? How has it been solved, or has it? In this amazing world that we live in people are unfortunately treated unfairly everyday. Although a list of Human Rights have been developed a lot of people don’t receive the respect that we all deserve, including children. Child abuse is a worldwide issue that has been going on for many years. Here in the United States over 3 million reports of child abuse are made every year. Child abuse occurs at every social level and within every religion, ethnicity, and culture. Throughout history there have been many people that try to solve this common problem, but unfortunately I think society will forever struggle with child abuse. In the past two rights were at the base of the mistreatment of children: the right to own property and the right to own children. Throughout history children were considered to be owned property and were forced to do whatever their parents needed them to do. In a common household the father would make all of the disciplinary decisions. In ancient Rome the father had the authority to sell, kill, sacrifice or do whatever he saw fit with his children. If a child was born deformed, weak or sick it was very common for the father to declare that the child was unfit to live. Historically parents used their children for profit by placing them in apprenticeships, workhouses, orphanages, placement mills, factories, farms and mines. These children were forced to work sixteen-hour days and were often whipped to make them work harder. In the 1960’s physical abuse and child neglect were officially recognized because of the development of radiology. But it wasn’t until the 1980’s and 1990’s that sexual and emotional/mental abuse was declared another form of child abuse. So here we are in 2011, but child abuse isn’t left in the past it goes on today in disturbing numbers. Our society has developed many definitions to the problem but no answers. Hopefully someday society will find an answer to this ongoing struggle of child abuse throughout the world.

Pronouncing Spanish Vowels

English speakers generally find the pronunciation of Spanish vowels fairly easy. Close approximations of all their sounds exist in English, and, with the exception of the E and the sometimes silent U, each of the vowels has basically one sound. The main thing to keep in mind is that in Spanish the vowels sounds are generally more distinct than they are in English. In English, any vowel can be represented by whats known as the schwa, an unstressed vowel sound such as the a in about, the ai in mountain, and the u in pablum. But in Spanish, such an indistinct sound isnt used. Although, as in most languages, the sounds of the vowels can vary slightly with the letters before and after them, in general the sound remains the same regardless of the word its in. Pronouncing the 5 Vowels First, the more or less invariable sounds: A is pronounced similarly to the a in father or the o in loft. Examples: madre, ambos, mapa. There are some speakers who sometimes pronounce the a something halfway between the a in father and the a in mat, but in most areas the first sound given is standard. See also the lesson on pronouncing the . I is pronounced similarly to the ee in feet and the e in me, although usually a little briefer. Examples: finca, timbre, mi. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the i. O is pronounced like the oa in boat or the o in bone, although usually a little briefer. Example: telà ©fono, amo, foco. See the lesson on pronouncing the o for more information. Now, the two vowels whose sound can change: E is generally pronounced like the e in met when it is at the beginning or within a word. It is pronounced similarly to the Canadian eh, kind of a shortened version of the à © in the English cafà ©, when it is at the end of the word. Sometimes it can be somewhere between those two sounds. Its not quite the sound of the English letter A, which if pronounced slowly often has an ee sound at the end, but closer to the e of met. Keep in mind that even when its at the end of the word, in a sentence it may sound more like the e of met. For example, in a phrase such as de vez en cuando, each e has approximately the same sound. Examples: cafà ©, compadre, embarcar, enero. See also the lesson on pronouncing the e. U is generally pronounced like the oo in boot or the u in tune. Do not pronounced it like the u in uniform. Examples: universo, reunià ³n, unidos. In the combinations gui and gue, as well as after q, the u is silent. Examples: guà ­a, guerra, quizà ¡s. If the u should be prono unced between a g and i or e, an umlaut (also called a dieresis) is placed over it. Examples: vergà ¼enza, lingà ¼ista. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the u. Diphthongs and Triphthongs As in English, two or three vowels in Spanish can blend together to form a sound. The sound is basically the sound of the two or three vowels rapidly pronounced. For example, the u when followed by an a, e, i or o ends up sounding something like the w in water. Examples: cuaderno, cuerpo, cuota. The ai combination sounds something like the sound of eye. Examples: hay, airear. The i when followed by an a, e or u sounds kind of like the y in yellow.: hierba, bien, siete. And other combinations are possible as well: miau, Uruguay, caudillo. Pronouncing Y Generally, the y is pronounced the same as it would be if it were an i, as part of a diphthong. Examples: rey, soy, yacer. Some words that are derived from English and have a y at the end often retain the English pronunciation. For example, in popular songs you may hear words such as sexy and phrases such as oh baby. This letter is covered in more detail in the lesson on pronouncing the y.